Stanford's Erica McCall, Taylor Greenfield and Karlie Samuelson, from left, sit on the bench during the second half of the semifinal game against Connecticut in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 6, 2014, in Nashville, Tenn. Connecticut won 75.56. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Photo: Mark Humphrey, Associated Press

Stanford's Erica McCall, Taylor Greenfield and Karlie Samuelson,...

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Connecticut All-American Breanna Stewart, who led five Huskies in double figures with 18 points, drives to the basket against Stanford freshman Lili Thompson in the first half.

Photo: Andy Lyons, Getty Images

Connecticut All-American Breanna Stewart, who led five Huskies in...

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Mikaela Ruef (3) and Erica Payne exit the court.

Photo: Mark Humphrey, Associated Press

Mikaela Ruef (3) and Erica Payne exit the court.

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Above, Stanford's Chiney Ogwumike (back) and Bria Hartley take a spill in the second half.

Stanford forward Chiney Ogwumike (13) and Connecticut guard Bria Hartley (14) collide during the second half of the semifinal game in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 6, 2014, in Nashville, Tenn. Connecticut won 75-56. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Photo: John Bazemore, Associated Press

Stanford forward Chiney Ogwumike (13) and Connecticut guard Bria...

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Former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice watches play between Stanford and Connecticut during the second half of the semifinal game in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 6, 2014, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Photo: Mark Humphrey, Associated Press

Former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice watches...

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NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 06: Bria Hartley #14 of the Connecticut Huskies reacts after a play in the second half against the Stanford Cardinal during the NCAA Women's Final Four semifinal at Bridgestone Arena on April 6, 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Apr 6, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Tara VanDerveer and her team react during the second half of the game against the Connecticut Huskies in the semifinals of the Final Four in the 2014 NCAA Womens Division I Championship tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Photo: Jim Brown, Reuters

Apr 6, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Tara...

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The Stanford team huddles after the second half of the semifinal game against Connecticut in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 6, 2014, in Nashville, Tenn. Connecticut won 75-56. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Photo: John Bazemore, Associated Press

The Stanford team huddles after the second half of the semifinal...

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NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 06: Breanna Stewart #30 of the Connecticut Huskies shoots against Erica McCall #24 of the Stanford Cardinal in the second half during the NCAA Women's Final Four semifinal at Bridgestone Arena on April 6, 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Photo: Andy Lyons, Getty Images

NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 06: Breanna Stewart #30 of the Connecticut...

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Apr 6, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; Connecticut Huskies center Stefanie Dolson (31) celebrates with head coach Geno Auriemma after the game against the Stanford Cardinal in the semifinals of the Final Four in the 2014 NCAA Womens Division I Championship tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Connecticut Huskies won 75-56. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Photo: Jim Brown, Reuters

Apr 6, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; Connecticut Huskies center...

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Apr 6, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Chiney Ogwumike (13) drives to the basket against the Connecticut Huskies during the second half in the semifinals of the Final Four in the 2014 NCAA Womens Division I Championship tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Connecticut Huskies won 75-56. Mandatory Credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports

Photo: Don McPeak, Reuters

Apr 6, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Chiney...

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Apr 6, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; The Stanford Cardinal bench react during the second half in the semifinals of the Final Four in the 2014 NCAA Womens Division I Championship tournament against the Connecticut Huskies at Bridgestone Arena. Connecticut Huskies won 75-56. Mandatory Credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports

Photo: Don McPeak, Reuters

Apr 6, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; The Stanford Cardinal bench react...

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NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 06: A general view in the second half of the game between Connecticut Huskies and Stanford Cardinal during the NCAA Women's Final Four semifinal at Bridgestone Arena on April 6, 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Photo: Andy Lyons, Getty Images

NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 06: A general view in the second half of the...

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Apr 6, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; The Stanford Cardinal mascot performs during the second half in the semifinals of the Final Four in the 2014 NCAA Womens Division I Championship tournament against the Connecticut Huskies at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Lindsey-USA TODAY Sports

Photo: Joshua Lindsey, Reuters

Apr 6, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; The Stanford Cardinal mascot...

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Apr 6, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; The Stanford Cardinal cheerleaders perform during the second half in the semifinals of the Final Four in the 2014 NCAA Womens Division I Championship tournament against the Connecticut Huskies at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports

In the hub of country music, Stanford's season ended with a thud - like a romance that ran out of gas or a truck whose engine died.

Top-ranked Connecticut had too many weapons on offense and played too tenaciously on defense for the Cardinal to keep up. The Huskies held them to a season-low point total and ushered them out of the Final Four on Sunday night with a 75-56 victory in the semifinals.

"Our team is really disappointed with how we played, especially in the second half," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said.

In the final game of her magnificent career, Chiney Ogwumike scored 15 points, her season low. Her previous low was 16 points in an early-season loss at UConn.

Stanford had high hopes of reversing that 76-57 loss at Storrs. Instead, the score was nearly identical.

UConn (39-0) and No. 2 Notre Dame (37-0), as expected, will wage a duel of unbeaten teams Tuesday night for the NCAA title, a night after the UConn men shoot for a title against Kentucky.

The Irish rode a 28-point performance by Kayla McBride to a 87-61 rout of Maryland (28-7) in the earlier semifinal.

Ogwumike finished her Stanford career as the leading scorer (2,737 points) and rebounder (1,567) in Pac-12 history. The game ended the six-year reign of the Ogwumike sisters. Nneka and Chiney led the Cardinal to five Final Fours, six Pac-12 regular-season titles and five conference tournament championships.

"It's been a great run," VanDerveer said. "To coach both of them together was awesome. We were in mourning for a month when Nneka graduated. But there's no replacing Chiney - our leading scorer, leading rebounder."

Ogwumike was recruited by UConn among many other schools, and one shudders to imagine her in that lineup. "I think she would have been the best player on that team," VanDerveer said.

The national player of the year candidate wished she had been more aggressive in the first half, when she took just five shots and had only four points against 6-foot-5 center Stefanie Dolson and what Ogwumike called "their post onslaught."

"I didn't get it that many times on the block because their game plan was to break up the entry passes," she said. "They really compacted the paint. Our guards did a great job in the first half of being aggressive. It's something we had to do for 40 minutes."

With 6-3 reserve Kiah Stokes joining Dolson and 6-4 Breanna Stewart, UConn rode a 12-0 run late in the first half to lead at the break 28-24 after struggling with its shooting in the early going.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, who scored all 15 of her points in the second half, led the Huskies to a 44-27 bulge early in the second half, and Stanford couldn't come within 11 the rest of the way. Stewart led five double-figure scorers for UConn with 18 points. Amber Orrange had a team-high 16 for Stanford, and freshman Lili Thompson had 12.

Huskies coach Geno Auriemma called it "one of the best games that we played all year." On defense, VanDerveer said, "they were right out on people. They force you to play one-on-one, which is really not what we're good at."